Homemade Halloween: DIY Costumes and Masks

Costumes and Masks
Whether your child wants to be Iron Man, Hannah Montana, or a fairy princess, drugstores and specialty shops across the country are lining their racks with scores of the perfect mass-produced getup. But while the store-bought Optimus Prime costume, plus accessories, seems perfectly suited to your child’s transformer fixation, many pre-made costumes and masks are made from PVC. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), also known as vinyl, is a non-recyclable plastic whose production releases cancer-causing dioxins into the atmosphere.  What’s more, soft vinyl products, like shiny imitation leather accessories, usually contain phthalates, hormone-disrupting chemicals that have been linked to reproductive abnormalities and liver cancer.

You can avoid the creepy unknown element in store-bought costumes by creating one yourself. Mix a few hand-me-downs with a handful of safety pins and a little imagination for a unique costume that isn’t nearly as scary as it looks. Here are a few ideas:

• With a little paint or pieces of fabric, transform solid-colored leggings and turtlenecks into any variety of animal or insect, such as a white stripe down the back of black basics for a skunk, or black polka dots on white for a Dalmation.
• Bend wire coat hangers into half moons or ear lobes and cover them with stockings for a pair of angel wings.
• Hang crepe paper and lace from a flashlight for a fairy wand that will light the way on dark neighborhood streets.
• Mask possibilities are endless with paper plates, construction paper and papier mache.
• Rummage through closets and thrift stores for forgotten fashions and uniforms to repurpose. An old cheerleader uniform can turn your child into a Highschool Musical star and worn out khakis can be the basis for Indiana Jones. Take scissors to any old outfit for a brain-dead zombie.
• With a little glue and a few strategically placed armholes, a gently used cardboard box can become anything from a rocket to Spongebob.

Makeup
Many costumes don’t seem complete without a face full of fake scars or a ghostly complexion. But many costume make-ups come with toxic ingredients, like lead, that can be readily absorbed in the skin. So before turning your child’s face green, blue, or any other ghastly color, make sure you’re makeup choice doesn’t come with any other frightening side effects. Here’s how:
 
Whenever possible, create the desired effect with adult cosmetics rather than play and costume makeup, which is often imported from a countries with less stringent regulations and can be vague about ingredients.

• Look for products that contain no more than 10 ingredients. The fewer the ingredients, the less likely your child is to be exposed to a potentially irritating or harmful chemical.
• Choose products that are listed in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics database.
• Powdered products generally contain fewer potentially harmful ingredients, but if you do use oil-based makeup, pay attention to the type of oil that is used.  Mineral oils are harsher on your skin than plant-based oils, but plant-based oils can cause allergic reactions in some people.  
• Always check the expiration date before using any makeup product.
• Even when you’re confidant that the product is safe, it’s always a good idea to test out a small amount on your child’s arm a few days before to be sure they don’t have adverse reactions when you apply larger amounts.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0